Spring Sprung

Jacket #41

Despite my best effort to start a new project [the words 'short rows' in my intended pattern scared me into staying faithful], I continued working on the Jacket #41. Since the right side is the same as the left, I doubt you really wanted to see a picture of my progress.

I do have a picture of the first completed side. Since this pattern's largest size is a 34/36", I was a bit concerned that it might be just a tad too tight. I consoled myself with the notion that the modeled picture looks a little baggy at the side seams, so maybe me being a little larger in the bust and ribcage might do it justice. So I clipped up the bottom of the sleeve's seam and tried it on.

Not bad! Now things may change up a little since it hasn't been washed or blocked, but at least it's a good sign that the fit should be perfect. My only concern is the bit of bagging under the arm. Pulling the neckline up alleviated the problem, but there is still a 6cm cabled edging that needs to be knitted and attached around the neck. I'm going to think that it's going to be okay and that it will all work out. Rebecca hasn't let me down too badly in the past, let's hope that doesn't change with this project.

Babies!!!

Hey, did I mention to y'all that I'm going to be an aunt again?!?! Yes, my brother and sister-in-law broke the news when they were down in So Cal last week. Seems the baby items in my queue is ever expanding. Not only do I have to knit something for my friend who had a baby last month, I have a new niece or nephew on the way and my sister-in-law's sister is also pregnant and due around the same time in October. Thank god I have a lot of ones and twos of random balls hanging around.

Spring...

Ah, Spring! Such a wonderful time, no? Well, I've been doing a bit more Spring Cleaning to my queue over the past two days. I've taken a hard look at what yarns I have and what I've been really wanting to make and tried to match the two up as much as possible. Then, with Project Spectrum's elements in mind, I arranged my queue accordingly. I know I won't be able to get to all the queued patterns, but it seems a little more manageable if I can see what projects I have to choose from over the specific two month elemental period.

Speaking of Project Spectrum, April and May is the Earth element. Of course, I've started a little early. I could only take so much orange, red and pink, people.

I've also acquired some new yarn for one of my Earth projects.

Why does the stash keep getting larger rather than smaller?

I was clicking around Ravelry last week when I noticed a fellow Ravelrer was wanting to sell 10 balls of Plymouth Royal Bamboo for $20. $20? Um. Okay.

This will be my first experience with 100% bamboo yarn [perfect fiber and color for Earth, right?]. It arrived today and it's so shiny and soft and puuuurrrrtty. I'm resisting chucking Jacket #41 out the window and starting A Streetcar Named Desire with my new pretty yarn.

I don't think the Rowanspun would mind? Do you?

Earth To Superstarra...

Hello, hello, hello!

Thanks for all the compliments on Flo. I'm so glad she's done! No more brainstorming on clever post titles utilizing the word Flo! Although she's not as exciting as cables or lace, I love that fact that she's definitely comfy and easy to wear. No pulling or tugging or adjusting...and she's a great alternative to a plain old sweatshirt.

So, that brings me to the obvious question. What's next? As much as I loved working on a single project [with breaks for smaller ones to break up the monotony] I think I'm going to have a few big ones on the needles all at once. I do plan on starting the Helon crochet dress...I just need to figure out the pattern. It's not making a whole hell of a lot of sense to me and an email to Rowan informed me that they don't make crochet charts. Disappointing. So I will probably start with the sleeve and see if I can make it work. And I think this will be my final Fire Project Spectrum knit.

Which brings us to the next Project Spectrum element...Earth. Green browns and metallics.

First off, I plan on starting the second of gf's Habu sweater kits.
Habu Kit #74. This sweater was my favorite of the ones she bought, and I'm kinda looking forward to making it. I'm a little afraid of the felting part of this sweater, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Oh, did I mention there are 37 buttons on this baby? I swear, I am becoming button obsessed.

The blue-ish yarn is A-99 cotton and the brown is A-178 angora. All stockinette on size 10's.

Sweater number two I found on the Rowan member's website. Chrissie is cute, casual, plain, and very wearable in my opinion. I like the little pocket and button detail [Button Quest Part XXI?]. Again, that's a lot of stockinette from the hem to the yoke...on size US 3. So many reasons to say 'no...I will not knit that'. But my knitters vanity says I must.

And the yarn I've chosen for Chrissie is Rowanspun 4 ply in Jade. I bought this quite a while ago, and when I first saw the color, I wasn't thrilled, but it's grown on me and I think it's the perfect Chrissie color.

UGh...US 3's. Am I a glutton for punishment or what?

The last pattern I have my eye on is Oblique from Knitty. Kendyl just finished hers and it looks really great...so I'm feeling inspired and the lacy and slants and craziness will break up the endless stockinette.
And the yarn for this pattern is the recently purchase $1 a ball Contrasto. I really like this linen/oatmeal color, but I don't really think it does much of anything for my skin tone. So this comfy slouchy cardigan that I can wear with skin tone brightening tees and tanks is the perfect choice.

Oh that's what?...4 projects on the needles at once? I haven't swatched yet, so all four may not work out. We'll see...

Flo! Flo! Flo! FLO!!!

I'd like to take a moment to thank Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum for distracting me from the monotony of endless stockinette. YAWN! Without these ladies Flo would not seem to be flying off the needles like she is. I don't know why the first sleeve felt like it took 3 weeks to finish. Oh the tedium. Anyway, I have a four more increases to do [each one over 6 rows] and 18 or so rows of straightaway then the raglan decreases. Oh, I love a light at the end of my tunnel.

And speaking of light, the sky was a little crazy on my way home last night. Whenever I go to museums and find myself looking at Renaissance paintings, I always think the sky looks so unreal and unnatural...until days like this. Then I'm even more wowed that someone could capture something so unusual on a canvas.

Oh, and my post from yesterday...Norah left me a comment that the Silent Night Tree Skirt was actually designed by Donna Yacino. Wow, did Norah Gaughan just leave me a comment? How is that possible?

Have a wonderful and safe weekend everyone! And yes, I'll keep working on Flo. No more distractions.

As The Tears Flo'd

Thank you to everyone who offered well wishes, yarn and knits to my friend. I certainly wasn't expecting all of that when I posted. I appreciate you all!!! Friday, I bought some black Rowan Chunky Print [would a beret be a bad idea?] and this weekend I knit some leftover pink yarn into the Aura skull cap. I think it might have come out a little big but I'm hoping it might tighten up with a wash. We'll see.

With Aura done, I decided to work on Flo rather than go blind attempting to knit the black yarn. Sleeve #1 is coming along. I'm really hoping to have this done by the weekend. I am enjoying the process of knitting Flo and the Bali yarn is really great to work with, but it's time. Time to move on. I've got that itch to start something new.

One of the two patterns left in my Fire Project Spectrum queue is Rita Mae from White Lies Designs. I bought this pattern ages ago but never found yarn that I could use...until the Unwind Superbowl Sale. I'm hopeful that I have enough yardage...I think I should be okay since I'm only planning on making the tank. I want to knit it, but am not 100% that I would wear it. The other pattern is the Beachcomber Tunic from Interweaves Crochet. I love how summery and cool and casual it is. I'm just hoping the GGH Safari I want to use for it knits/crochets up to gauge. And although I love the yarn, I'm not 100% the color is right for me [but that's also the way I felt about the other two Safari projects I've knitted and I'm actually happier with the color than I anticipated]. It's always something, huh?

Thinking about it makes me head hurt, so I think I'll just go back to working on Flo...

Mom's Fringed Striped Lap Shawl...Done!

Backstory

Pattern: I actually made it up myself!
Yarn: Knitpicks Main Line in Red Velvet Cake, Antique Rose, Ink and Ivory.
Needles: US Size 9
Exposition: This lapshawl is a combo birthday gift/"let me steal some of your acrylic yarn so I can make super happy crochet cute animals". I think my mom will enjoy it.

I casted on 72 stitches and just garter stitched away, changing colors every second row. The fringed ends were twisted together for a more finished look. I do still need to even them up a bit. The finished shawl is 19" wide [not including fringe] and 30" long. Since it's worked in garter, there's a little bit of stretch to it....and it hasn't been washed yet, so those figures may change a bit.

Mom's shawl is keeping me warm today. Yes, I'm getting my cooties all over her gift.

I love the look of the stripes on the "wrong" side.

Not bad for a few day's knitting, right? What's next you ask? Well, I think that I'm going to put the crochet shawl aside for the moment. I finished blocking Patti yesterday and will start seaming tonight. I also have another sweater that I'm really excited to work on. I love red sweaters!

Project Spectrum Plans

Thanks for the many compliments on the Habu sweater. Finishing it was a definite milestone. With its completion, I can turn my attention to my other major WIP - Patti. I'm one third of the way through the second front...then just two sleeves and some serious blocking and seaming. Not a lot to do, but certainly enough to keep me busy until the beginning of February, which is also the start of Project Spectrum.

This will be my first foray into Project Spectrum, so I'm pretty excited. I'm using each two-month theme to break up my queue according to the color, concept and theme. The February/March theme is fire and the colors are orange, red and pink.

A little bit of my inspiration for the next two months.

1. Wildfoote Sock yarn
2. Lace Tunic from Rebecca #27
3. GGH Safari yarn
4. Knitpicks Mainline yarn
5. GGH Samoa yarn
6. Carnival shawl from RYC Classic Holiday
7. Rowan Calmer yarn
8. Aura skullcap from Rowan Calmer Collection
9. Anouk dress from Knitty
10. Incatops alpaca yarn
11. Jaeger Luxury Tweed yarn
12. Flo from Rowan #30

Planning Ahead

By nature, I'm not much of a planner. Unless we're talking what to wear for a night out. But as far as life is concerned, I'm not flighty but I tend to be pretty laid back about stuff.

That all changes this year.

With my stash and needles organized, I've looked for other places where I can streamline and do a little organization. That of course led me to my Ravelry queue. I tend to not keep a lot of items queued up...and generally it's a random smattering of what looks good on any given day. Well I decided to give it a good once over.

First off, I made sure that patterns with stash yarn waiting were on the list. Then I eliminated any patterns that were just too random to even be considered. Then, with the help of the Rowan magazines I brought with me to work and my thoroughly documented stash, I was able to match up a few more yarns to patterns. Following the sage advice of Gina, the patterns work on all fronts: will fill a void in my closet, will work with the yarn and color, and will work on me. And since most of these matches will be dependent on swatching, I'm trying not to have my heart set on any particular yarn/pattern match and have been making an effort to find multiple patterns that will work.

Still life: Rowan Magazine and a plan

My last bit of organization had to do with order. I mentioned earlier that I have joined Project Spectrum 3.0, which starts in February. So I made a list of items that need to be finished by the month's end...and it's actually manageable [especially since Patti can be counted as red for fire element]. Then I made a list of which yarns/patterns could be used to reflect the individual themes. And it looks pretty do-able. I'm excited to start, and the PS takes the pressure off me to decide which pattern to work on as time goes on.

Now I just need to take this organization and apply it to other parts of my life.

I'm hoping to make some serious progress on the Habu sleeve and get the whole thing back on the needles by week's end. The first major fo of 2008 is in the home stretch!

3 Days In, So Far, So Good.

Well here we are, 3 days into 2008. Exciting stuff. So far, I've caught a cold, have a toothache and haven't made much effort to get to the gym...but am I they type of person to infect the world because I have fitness goals?

No, I certainly am not.

There are a few good things though! I finally finished the first Habu sleeve and will hopefully make short work of the second. Can I tell you how much I now hate knitting sleeves in the round? Talk about tedious! Especially on a thin mohair.
And the other good thing is that I have successfully willed one of my gray hairs to return to its natural black color...without the aid of hair dye. It was sheer willpower, people. Now if only I could convince the other 5 to do the same.

See what a relief it is once the holidays are over?

Along with my 2 step knitting goal for 2008, I've decided to follow in the footsteps of my friend Moni and join Project 365 on Flickr and Project Spectrum. I've enjoyed seeing everyone's Project Spectrum work and figure I can use it to inspire some photographs for Project 365. I'm looking forward to making 2008 a very creative year all around. The sky is the limit!